(From left) Joe Hadad, Kevin Sheffield and Jordan Noble plan to open Smoke & Barrel in the former Lady N’awlins space in late August/early September. (Photo by Eileen Mellon)
Asked how long he and his business partners have known each other, Kevin Sheffield replies, “Since high school.” Joe Hadad immediately corrects him, shaking his head and saying with a laugh that their relationship dates way further back.
Along with Jordan Noble, the three early 30-somethings have been buds since middle school, progressing from hangouts at Skateland as kids to barhopping in the Main Street corridor during the era of Star-lite and Baja Bean. In the coming months, they’ll cement their friendship even further as fellow restaurant owners.
Aiming for a late August or early September opening, the trio plan to introduce Smoke & Barrel at 2329 W. Main St. in the former Lady N’awlins space.
When the Cajun cafe closed last fall after an 11-year run, New York Deli owners Demetrios and Rodion Tsiptsis and David Zemlan purchased the building. After plans with the original operators fell through, Demetrios Tsiptsis approached Sheffield, who began bartending at New York Deli three years ago.
“Demetrios came up to me and was like, ‘Kevin, this is your last chance before I go and find [other] owners. This would be cool and full circle for you,’” Sheffield recalls. “It’s an honor. I told him, ‘Yeah, I know some guys who would love to do this.’”
With seven years spent slinging drink’s at Jake Crocker’s now shuttered F.W. Sullivan’s across the street, along with another seven behind the bar at Lady N’awlins, Sheffield is no stranger to the once bustling Fan intersection. The three were already plotting a potential project in Mechanicsville when Sheffield received the offer to revive the building, so it felt like fate.
“We were looking for a spot; we’ve been wanting to do something with Kevin for a while,” adds Noble, who owns the company Key Star Logic with Hadad.
Known to rock a pair of cowboy boots, Noble has his own personal connection to Lady N’awlins. “Me and my wife had our first date here with Kevin as our bartender, and now we have three kids, four dogs and 29 chickens,” he says with a laugh.
From The Dougout to Step Down Raw Bar to The White Dog, as well as its longest tenant, Lady N’awlins (and others in between), the welcoming corner building with its step-down entrance has served as a refuge for Richmonders seeking cheer and a bite to eat since the 1970s. With Smoke & Barrel, the threesome hope to reawaken that energy.
“We’ve all gone to places like Social 52, Charred, The Jasper, Cooper’s Tavern [in Quinton], and we love those types of places,” Sheffield says. “We want to keep that [kind of atmosphere] for the Fan and bring the Fan back to where it’s a destination spot for date night and a place people can hang out late night and get something like a smoked Old Fashioned.”
Cocktails will be a main focus, with 10 taps for liquor and another 10 for beer. “We want that feel of a speakeasy,” says Sheffield, who was named Best Bartender in Style Weekly’s annual readers survey from 2016 to 2020 and says his purpose in life is “bringing people together.”
While the squat space is well on its way to being revamped, with a newly painted dining room, fresh floor, soon-to-arrive granite bar top and whiskey barrel-inspired bar, diners who frequented The White Dog in the 2000s may experience a little deja vu upon their first visit to Smoke & Barrel. Hadad says they plan to use the same off-white, light cream paint color with black trim.
The booths cozied up to the windows in the front half of the restaurant, which will be open for dinner and brunch, will be replaced with high-top tables, while the rear will serve as a more intimate dining area. Exposed brick offers guests a peek of the building’s bones, and a small stage up front will remain.
Although original whispers about the new concept mentioned Cajun cuisine, the owners say that it felt too forced. They are now aiming for a balance between elevated and casual, citing dishes such as smoked chicken wings and fried green tomatoes and including vegan and vegetarian options. Sheffield says, “We want elevated, and we don’t want to be too bougie, and we don’t want to be bar food; we kind of want to be in between, where it’s approachable for everybody.”
“We want to be a place that you can go grab good food and a good drink with good atmosphere, those are the three things you look for,” Noble says. “We’re excited. It feels natural.”
